Meet Poland's Eurovision 2021 act Rafal who will sing The Ride

Unlike many of the acts this year, Rafal who is hoping to see Poland cruise to victory, is not an act that was lined up to perform in the 2020 Eurovision that was ground to a halt for obvious reasons, instead, he comes into the 2021 competition fresh.

But does Rafal have what it takes to clinch a victory, and is his song for the year up to the task?

Here's everything we know about him!

Who is representing Poland at Eurovision 2021?

Age: 39

Instagram: @rafal_official

This is not Rafal's first experience with Eurovision, although he is in a very different position this time as formerly he co-hosted the 2020 Junior Eurovision Song Contest - the same year he was originally meant to perform for Poland.

The first season of The Voice of Poland is where he rose to prominence in the country back in 2011 and he has so far clocked up five studio albums and a whole host of singles to go along with them.

What is Poland's Eurovision 2021 song called?

The song that Rafal will be singing with an eye on getting Poland a decent score is called The Ride - he replaced the choice for 2020, Alicja, whose insistence on choosing a ballad did not sit well with the Polish decision-makers.

Joakim Övrenius, Thomas Karlsson, Clara Rubensson and Johan Mauritzsonare are all listed as the songwriters for the track and if you want to hear it for yourself then you can check out the music video below!

Where did Poland come in 2019’s Eurovision?

The pressure is not on Rafal too much to do better for Poland than they did in the previous competition as all he needs to do is to progress from the semi-final to improve on that result.

In 2019, that is as far as Poland got as they did not secure enough points to make it to the grand final - will they have better luck in 2021?

When is Eurovision 2021?

The Eurovision Song Contest Grand Final will take place on Saturday 22nd May 2021 in Rotterdam, The Netherlands.

BBC One will be broadcasting live coverage of the event, while Graham Norton commentates.

Ken Bruce will be providing commentary on BBC Radio 2.

The semi-finals will be held on Tuesday 18th and Thursday 20th May, and will be broadcast on BBC Four.

Why was Eurovision 2020 cancelled?

Shine a Light and Eurovision Come Together aired on the BBC last year instead of the standard contest - a nice replacement for the real thing but it did not scratch that Eurovision itch as much as we had hoped.

The reason for the cancellation? Well, of course, it was COVID and the global pandemic with Eurovision being far from the only event to be cancelled over the last 12 or so months.

Buy the DVD and watch Eurovision 2018 here and Eurovision 2019 here if you want to watch the last two contests while you wait for the next.

The Eurovision Song contest 2021 will air on the BBC this May. Check out the full list of Eurovision winners here. If you're looking for something to watch tonight, check out our TV Guide.